May 2012

Hmmm, what happend to April?  I was supposed to do 200 miles and managed 143. Just-giving site is down so I can't see how much I have raised either. On top of that..I fell off the wagon big time with my healthy eating plan and hurt my back! Excuses, excuses!!

Good things about April are that I started to master the art of cycling with cleats - check out me 'specialized' shoes below, starting to look the part now!

May - spring is here and I need to start being serious. I am doing a fair bit of exercise but the weather over the last few weeks has been shocking so the cycling has taken a bit of a hit. I tried some indoor turbo training whilst watching the London marathon that I had previously taped, which was quite inspirational.

This month I hope to have only £400 left on my just giving to go, I have 6 weeks left until the L2B ride and I aim to get in 225 miles this month.  It will be difficult because I have a busy month of work planned.  Maybe I should play one less game of squash a week and supplement it with a ride. I also need to get my Pilates practice back because that will help by back no end.

So, no more excuses, no more junk food and get back on track!!

Easter Sunday update

April is well underway, it is Easter Sunday and I have a plan for April. I will have paid another £200 off my target leaving only £500 to go. 
I bought a specialized roubaix 'ruby' expert road bike. It's a top bike and looks great!  I don't look quite so great on it at the moment as it is taking some time to get used to the gears and balancing on such a small and light bike.  It makes my Claude Butler feel like a tank!

I am taking it slowly..went for 15 miles today round the hilly route out of Whaddon to try out those gears. Felt like I was back all those months ago when I was going downhill and being so scared that I was going to hit a pot hole and come flying off.  Eventually I found a bit of confidence and managed 18mph on the flat. Now I am soooo sore I need to sit on an ice pack!  Also it made my hands ache with a change of arm position and I could feel muscles working that I never noticed when cycling before - my stomache muscles (keeping balance) and my thighs (can only be good - have you seeeen the size of them?!)
I am going to try to cycle everywhere rather than drive - the cost of petrol is getting ridicuous and eat sensibly and give up eating chocolate and crisps of an evening, so far so good, this is my second day with no junk food. Going to take it one day at a time and hope I will lose a stone along the way.

I did 100 miles in March - I am aiming to double that this month and ride 200 miles.

Training starts again March 2012

Vietnam has been postponed to November this year. Thank goodness. Fundraising has been slow and hard going as the xmas party didn't bring in as much as we'd hoped. Having said that I have just worked out that I only have £770 left to go so that has made me very relieved and taken the weight off my shoulders. My plan now is a couple of boot fairs, a pamper party and the rest in sponsorship for the London-Brighton.

Yes, thats my interim challenge in June and a chilterns ride - also 60 miles in April.

For the next month I will be upping my mileage both on the bike and also some runs. I need to definitely up my fitness levels all round and ensure that I eat sensibly.

Today I rode 30 miles with Steve through the beautiful local countryside through villages I have never even heard of. We stopped 3 times 2 x small drink break and a longer refuel pitstop in a very pretty village by a church. The sun was shining but it was still cold and the roads were mainly quiet and safe. It was a very hilly ride though and my legs are like jelly now. I'm looking forward to increasing my stamina.

Junes training month 1 of 10

10 months til we go.  I have created a training plan that inceases the miles month on month.  This months target was 200 miles and I managed 204.
I can feel my stamina getting better and I have really noticed that I have more money in my pocket because I am using less petrol. 
I'm a bit worried about how far we have to go and wonder whether I will be fit enough by then to actually enjoy it, I know it will be tough, but I just want to be in a position where I can cope with it. 
I am so looking forward to this adventure.

Training started

Week 2 and 3 of 45

Finally sat down yesterday to devise a rough plan of how to achive this enormous task. Basically it amounts to..'get on the bike as often as possible for as long as possible'. Will be dusting off the turbo trainer and bringing it indoors when the bad weather arrives, but for now, we're due a heatwave, so I must get outside for some long rides.  Its going to be hot and humid out there in Asia.

The last three days I have been able to train as it is half term and Alex isn't out of his bedroom til the afternoon and then just wants to go out with his mates. So on Monday I did 65 mins on the static bike and travelled 21.64km (about 14 miles) at level 5 and on Tuesday I stepped it up to level 7 for 65 mins and travelled 21.85km. This morning I got up at 5.30 and went to a spin class, it was my 3rd session, haven't seen the same teacher yet, they all do different routines but they certainly all do work you hard. I like the fact that you can work as hard as you want, if you want to slack off a bit you can..but I push and push to the limit.  There is absolutely no point in trying to cut corners here, I am determined to be as fit as possible so that I can cope with this challenge. I don't want to be the one at the back wingeing that I didn't put enough training in.

Personally this has been one tough week emotionally and I'm still not ready to talk about our loss yet, its been tough to keep going but...we'll all get through it eventually I'm sure. (apologies to those who don't know what I'm on about)

Thought I'd look up some pictures of the cycle tours in Vietnam and came across this one which frightened me to death!  Not only have I got to learn to cycle long distance and up hills, but apparently in a straight line as well!  Best start practising!! 

Fundraising update 3% so far.  Long way to go!  We have organised a curry/quiz night on the 5th July and a pub quiz on the 13th June. Now need to get boot fairs underway so need to clear out the loft and garage! 

Vietnam Cycle Challenge

Vietnam Cycle Challenge

Vietnam Cycle Challenge 2012 - the decision

I was determined last year that I would do a charity challenge to celebrate turning 40. For one reason and another, (those who know me well will remember) I didn't do it.  So many of my friends are achieving amazing things and I can see how energised they are for the challenge.  They all continue to inspire me in their own  ways. There are so many excuses one can make for not doing something amazing but as I teach the messages 'you can do anything you set your mind to' and 'life is too short' on a regular basis through my work, I find that now is the time to put myself to the test. Not so much about challenge,more about adventure!
With Steve devestated that he can't do the Inca Trail because of his ruptured achillies, he's now looking forward to the next challenge up. Vietnam Cycle Challenge and I have decided to join him.

I play squash, I run, I hike what I don't do is cycle regularly. I have recently started to cycle into the city to work on the occasions that I am there, but that has amounted to about 3 times in the last few weeks. So this is a huge task for me, at the moment I just don't have the stamina required to complete a challenge like this. However, the way I see it is that I have 11 months to get bike fit and training starts right now!

I decided on Thursday 19th May, on Friday at 06.15 I was sitting nervously on a spin bike for my first ever session.  Talk about hard work, I found it quite intimidating getting the bike set up for me and I'm not sure that I did it correctly, I think the seat was too high and the bars too far away but instead of stopping and adjusting, I just carried on.  The tutor said that I worked hard for my first session and most first timers tend to take it easy, so I was pleased with that.
By Saturday, despite feeling very bruised from the hard racing seats of a spin bike I went for my first 10km on a static bike after a pilates class. I cheated a bit sitting on the seated bike because I knew I would be spinning again on Sunday but I managed 10km in 27 minutes. I have no idea whether this is a good start, but it is a start!
Sunday, I put the pressure on myself to attend another spin class and I really went for it this time.  I haven't sweated that much since I last went in a sauna, I now have jelly legs and feel even more bruised...but training for my adventure has certainly begun!